(1 November 2026) Stocks mostly declined last week as the rotation out of AI shares continued along with some some weaker-than-expected corporate earnings. The tech-heavy NASDAQ and S&P 500 finished lower while the broader NYSE Composite and small cap Russell 2000 actually posted gains on the week.
Friday’s tech sell-off coincided with two apparently bearish alignments: the square aspect of retrograde Mercury and Mars and the 135-degree sesquisquare aspect of Jupiter and Saturn. We have been tracking the Jupiter-Saturn sesquisquare in October and it has so far largely adhered to its historical bearish bias as shown in the updated cumulative trend chart below. Our backtest of previous 135-degree alignment suggests that the interim low tends to occur a few days after the exact aspect. For the current alignment, this occurred on Saturday October 31. Although it is only one aspect out of many, it provides some evidence that the interim low could be near, if it hasn’t already occurred on Friday.
The square alignment of retrograde Mercury and Mars is another matter. On the face of it, it seemed like a prime candidate for market weakness. Hard aspects between Mercury and Mars aspects are almost a textbook example of bearish influences. And with Mercury also retrograde at the same time, one would think the odds would be elevated for some downside around the time of the exact 90-degree alignment.
And yet a look at previous such Mercury Rx-Mars squares reveals something very different. I compiled a small sample of 21 cases dating from 1984 to 2021. Prices were recorded at 3-day intervals starting at 18 days before the square to 18 days after. These are listed on the table below.
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